Aberdare Athletic Football Club were a Welsh

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club founded in 1893 and based at the Athletic Ground in

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; ) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and River Cynon, Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tydf ...

. They joined the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

in 1921 but were replaced by

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

after failing to be re-elected in 1927.

History

Foundation

Founded in 1893, Aberdare were Welsh Cup runners-up in 1903–04, 1904–05 and 1922–23. In 1920–21, they joined the Welsh Section of the Southern League and finished runners-up in their first season. That gained them entry to the Football League Third Division South for the next season along with Charlton Athletic.

League football

Despite a promising start in league football, finishing 8th in the 1921–22 season, Aberdare suffered financial instablility throughout the 1920s. The club merged with Aberaman Athletic in 1926 with the first team competing in the Football League under the name Aberdare Athletic, while the reserve team played in the Welsh League under the name Aberdare & Aberaman Athletic. However the merged clubs still had to operate on a tight player budget meant it was unable to secure new players. In the 1926–27 season, Aberdare Athletic finished bottom of the Third Division South and failed to gain re-election to the League, with Torquay United taking their place. Aberdare's loss of their Football League place was controversial. In the first ballot, Aberdare and Southern League side Torquay, the latter having previously applied to join the League in 1923, tied with 21 each. That round of voting was marred by controversy as the potentially tie-breaking ballot was reported to be "spoilt" and Aberdare's secretary claimed that one of the scrutineers was "an interested party". Aberdare lost the second ballot with 19 votes to Torquay's 26; fellow League side Watford, who had finished second-bottom, were comfortably re-elected with 44 votes. The club now fully adopted the name "Aberdare & Aberaman Athletic", and rejoined the Southern League.

Decline

The club only survived for another season, and in 1928, the Aberaman faction split away to re-form Aberaman Athletic, while the Aberdare half folded. Aberdare & Aberaman Athletic was again re-formed in 1945, but that side also split in 1947. Aberdare Town F.C. continue to play in the Welsh Football League today.

Managers

The following were managers around the time the team was Football League side: * William Lot, June 1920 – March 1922 * Frank Bradshaw, May 1923 – April 1924 * Sydney Beaumont, 1924–1927 * Harry Hadley, November 1927 – April 1928

History

Welsh Football League *Winners (4): 1904–05, 1908–09, 1911–12, 1920–21

League and Cup history

References

External links

* {{Football League clubs of Wales English Football League clubs Defunct football clubs in Wales Southern Football League clubs Association football clubs established in 1893 Association football clubs disestablished in 1928 1893 establishments in Wales 1928 disestablishments in Wales Sport in Aberdare South Wales League clubs Defunct Welsh football clubs in English leagues